Yarn Up

For community legal centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff only to meet and discuss key policy and practice issues.

Convenor: Zachary Armytage (Community Legal Centres NSW)

Aboriginal Advisory Group

Training for Aboriginal workers in the CLC sector

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Rights Working Group

1.1 Domestic Violence & Victims Compensation Network

Convenors: Karen Mifsud (Solicitor, Women’s Legal Service NSW), Kathy Keat (Solicitor, Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre)

CLC solicitors working on domestic violence and victims compensation share experience and update on legal issues affecting victims-survivors of domestic violence.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law

2.1 Administration and Finance Network

Convenor: Kerrith Sowden (Operations Manager, Refugee Advice and Casework Service)

Presenter: Jake Berger (Pitcher Partners)

Jake will discuss some of the stimulus packages that are available to our sector. Jake will answer any questions submitted to Charlotte on charlotte.maung@clcnsw.org.au in the week prior to the Quarterly on the Cashflow Boost as well as JobKeeper.

3.1 Opening plenary: What role do CLCs play in keeping police accountable?

Facilitator: Arlia Fleming (Managing Principal Solicitor, Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre and Chairperson, Community Legal Centres NSW)

Presenters:
Sam Lee (Police Accountability Solicitor, Redfern Legal Centre)
Felicity Graham (Barrister, Black Chambers)
Camilla Pandolfini (Principal Solicitor, PIAC)
Dr. Louis Schetzer (Policy and Advocacy Manager, Australian Lawyers Alliance)
Hilary Kincaid (Principal Solicitor, Inner City Legal Centre)

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law, Advocacy

4.1 Coordinators and Directors Network

Convenors: Arlia Fleming (Chairperson, Community Legal Centres NSW, Managing Principal Solicitor, Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Centre), Robert Pelletier (Executive Officer, Macarthur Legal Centre)

Open to CLC coordinators and directors to share centre updates and discuss key practice and policy positions.

4.2 Prisoners' Rights Working Group

Convenors: Carolyn Jones (Senior Solicitor, Women's Legal Service NSW), Corinne Kew (Assistant Principal Solicitor, Western Sydney Community Legal Centre)

Member CLCs share what is happening during COVID-19 for their clients under Corrective Services and Youth Justice supervision, in custody, or the community and whether there are any specific trends or issues for the network to monitor or address, and/or any examples of good practice.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law

5.1 Employment and Discrimination Law Network

Convenors: Sharmilla Bargon (Solicitor, Redfern Legal Centre), Stanley Tao (Solicitor, North & Northwest Community Legal Centre), Justin Pen (Solicitor, Marrickville Community Legal Centre)

Guest presenter: Ingmar Taylor, SC Greenway Chambers will present on Accessorial liability for wage underpayments.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law

5.2 Care and Protection Network

Convenors: Kenn Clift (Solicitor, Intellectual Disability Rights Service), Symmon Andrews (Solicitor, Central Coast Community Legal Centre)

CLC staff discuss relevant care and protection practice and law reform issues.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law

6.1 Care and Protection Network Training

Presenter: Delveen Andrews (Caregiver Recruitment Support Manager, Te Tai Tokerau, Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children in New Zealand)

Convenors: Kenn Clift (Solicitor, Intellectual Disability Rights Service), Symmon Andrews (Solicitor, Central Coast Community Legal Centre)

Delveen will present on the Te Whanau Tu-honotanga model which is a kaupapa Māori response model to transitioning and reconnecting Maori children that are placed in care back to their whanau (family), hapu (extended family/sub-tribe) and iwi (community/tribe). Delveen has a 22 year care and protection background in New Zealand.  She also has previous work experience as a nurse working with medically fragile and terminally ill children - many of whom suffered from childhood trauma. If time allows, Delveen will also talk briefly about FGCs and the 2019 legislative changes in New Zealand as a response to the over-representation of Maori children in Care.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law

6.2 Communications Network (starting at 3.30pm)

Convenor: Finn O'Keefe (Communications and Volunteer Manager, Redfern Legal Centre)

Facilitator: Community Legal Centres NSW

Presenters: Maura Angle (Director of Community Engagement, National Debt Helpline), Sally Cameron and Gemma Pitcher (Economic Justice Australia/Welfare Rights Centre), and Darren Smith (Community Legal Centres NSW).

CLCs share experiences of managing communications over the past few months of COVID-19 crisis. What has worked and what has been challenging?

7.1 Law Reform and Policy Network

Convenors: Niamh Joyce (Solicitor, HIV/AIDS Legal Centre), Sean Bowes (Law Reform Solicitor / Clinical Supervisor, Kingsford Legal Centre)

Presenters: Jane Leibowitz (PIAC), Hannah Robinson (Western NSW), Lauren Frost (Human Rights Law Centre), Liz Snell (Women's Legal Service NSW)

CLC members discuss law reform and collaboration in the context of COVID-19. We will look both at COVID-19 related policy work, and other issues that centres have been working on as governments have tried to slip policy changes under the radar while attention is elsewhere.

Representatives from 4 centres will speak about the law reform and policy work they have been doing since March, with a focus on how they have approached and implemented law reform in the current, hyper-reactive, fast-moving environment (particularly the role of inter-organisation and sector-wide collaboration), as well as challenges they have faced (particularly those centres that do not have designated law reform and policy staff).

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law, Advocacy

7.2 PII Committee

Convenors: Ali Motjahedi (Principal Solicitor, Immigration Advice and Rights Centre), Hilary Kincaid (Solicitor, Inner City Legal Centre)

The PII committee monitors and supports members' compliance with the Risk Management Guide and informs members of relevant legal practice issues. Principal Solicitors (or their delegate) are required to attend.

Possible CPD*: Practice Management

8.1 Community Legal Education Workers

Convenors: Duhita Lewis (CLE Coordinator, Hunter Community Legal Centre), Nalika Padmasena (Solicitor, Seniors Rights Service)

Community legal educators from member CLCs share recent updates to their practice and provision of community legal education programs.

Possible CPD*: Professional Skills

8.2 RRR Network

Convenor: Lianne Davids (CEO, Western NSW Community Legal Centre)

RRR members discuss issues involved in providing legal services in rural, remote and regional areas. This session is open to attendance by workers from FVPLS providers and ALS providers.

9.1 Sector Induction

Presenter: Laurel Draffen (Community Legal Centres NSW)

Introduction to the community legal sector: orientation for new workers and volunteers, including board members.

9.2 Employment issues for migrant workers

Presenters: Vicki Harding (CEO, Inner City Legal Centre; Lead Project Partner, Migrant Employment Legal Service), Sharmilla Bargon (Employment Practice, Redfern Legal Centre) and Josh Strutt (Solicitor and Registered Migration Agent, Immigration Advice and Rights Centre) 

The Migrant Employment Legal Service is a partnership between 5 inner city legal services. Vicki and Sharmilla will present on the partnership arrangement as well as some of the legal issues the service works on. IARC has a partnership with Unions Australia to offer legal services to migrant union members. Josh will present on this partnership and some of the legal issues it addresses.

10.1 Responding to Social and Financial Hardship Panel

Facilitator: Jonathon Hunyor (CEO, Public Interest Advocacy Centre)

Panel presenters: Natalie Ross (Principal Solicitor, Welfare Rights Centre), Alexandra Kelly (Director of Casework, Financial Rights Legal Centre), Leo Patterson-Ross (CEO, Tenants' Union of NSW)

Specialist CLCs that have experienced an increased volume of clients enquiries resulting from financial and social hardship resulting from the COVID-19 shutdown provide updates on emerging legal issues and actions.

Possible CPD*: Substantive Law, Advocacy

For National Reconciliation Week, Community Legal Centres NSW will be hosting a virtual film screening of '88', a Q&A, and a screening of the trailer for 'In My Blood It Runs' next Thursday, 28 May at 12:30pm-2:30pm. The event will be held via Zoom. All welcome!

88 is a landmark documentary that explores the remarkable events that led up to January 26, 1988 – the 200 year anniversary of European invasion of this continent. The March for Justice, Freedom and Hope was the largest protest march since the Vietnam Moratorium with over 30,000 Aboriginal people from all across the continent rallying to remind all that white Australia has a Black history.

If you are in the CLC sector, you and/or your centre's coordinator/director will be emailed the Zoom link for the event. We encourage everyone in the CLC sector to attend.

If you are not in the CLC sector, please register via Eventbrite by 5pm on Wednesday 27 May, and you will be sent the Zoom link on the morning of the event.

More information about 88 here.

More information about National Reconciliation Week here.

Zoom is a video conferencing system that is used to run network meetings, training and webinars for Community Legal Centres NSW events. Using Zoom will allow you to actively participate in training and network meetings.

Click here to download Zoom now.

You will be able to dial in to sessions via phone if you wish, although we recommend you use Zoom for full functionality and session experience. 

All registered participants will be sent Zoom links and phone dial-in details for Yarn Up and Quarterly sessions in the week of the 21st of May.

Community Legal Centres NSW will be running a webinar to help CLC staff, volunteers and board members understand how to use Zoom, prior to Quarterlies week. Details of the webinar will be announced soon.

If you have any questions about Zoom prior to the event please contact CLCNSW on 9212 7333 or email officemanager@clcnsw.org.au.

If you have any Zoom questions or issues during the event please call or text 0401 262 873.

Community Legal Centres NSW indicates whether a session may be appropriate to attract Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points but takes no responsibility if the content does not meet CPD requirements. Sessions are not accredited by the NSW Law Society. Community legal centre solicitors should make their own assessment of whether the session meets their CPD requirements, and maintain their own records for meeting CPD requirements.

Further information about CPD requirements are available on the Law Society NSW website.

With thanks to guests, event sponsors and pro bono presentations from: Legal Aid NSW, Pitcher Partners, Black Chambers, Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greenway Chambers, the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW. Thanks also to all community legal centre speakers for sharing their practice, expertise and knowledge.

We acknowledge the Lands upon which these meetings take place. Community Legal Centres NSW acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the land on which our office operates and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. The land on which we meet, physically, digitally or otherwise is stolen land of which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' sovereignty was never ceded.